Loner
by KittenInAPool
Summary: Following through the eyes of Degrassi Junior, Alas Hedley, has spent all her 2 and a half years at Degrassi being nothing but a loner in the background. But when her only friend, Renee, transfers out of Degrassi, can she find a new friend to help her get through the semester and all her family's troubles...Or will the loneliness and anxiety get to her. READ, REVIEW, and ENJOY!


**Hey thanks for checking out my new Fic! :) First, I just want to say, I've never been more nervous to post a story before. I've had this idea for a LONG time. If you follow me on tumblr, you probably know that. And after recent episodes I've been very hesitant to post this now. But I had many people to support me and say they wanted to read it. So here it is. The story of a Loner, stuck at Degrassi. Please, READ, REVIEW, and ENJOY!**

* * *

First day back at Degrassi after an _"oh so wonderful"_ break of hell. I didn't even go to Mrs. Stroman's class. The last thing I felt like doing was learning Spanish that I will never understand. But not only did I get a new schedule this semester. "We" got a hockey team. One that deserves giant celebrations just as a welcome to our school. It's bullshit.

"Alas! I need your help!" Danielle called out from the kitchen. "Alas! ALAS!"

I released a loud grunt before dragging my half-dead body off the couch and carried myself toward the voice. "What do you want Danielle? I had a long day at school and I just want to watch the tube and nap."

My sister handed Carly, her eighth -month old daughter to me. "I need you to change her."

"Why do I have to?! She's your kid!" I barked, which made Carly start to cry, forcing me to start bouncing her on my hip.

"Because I have an interview to go to and I need to finish getting ready."

My expression wasn't pleasant, making Danielle just walk around me toward the bathroom to finish straightening her hair. "And who will be watching Carly as you go to this interview?" I stated as I begun to undress the child.

"You, obviously!" Danielle shouted back to me.

"You can't throw this kind of shit on me Danielle! What if I have plans?!" I hollered back, not caring that Carly was kicking and screaming now.

Danielle walked out of the bathroom. "You should know that family comes before any silly plans. Plus sitting on the computer all night isn't plans." Danielle's normal grumpiness came out until she said goodbye to Carly with a kiss on her head and skipped out the door.

I held Carly in my lap as I watched the news. Staring at the loopy weatherman outside obsessing over the bright January sunshine, when shortly after a knock appeared at the door, and Renee walked straight in. "Hey Renee," my monotone voice didn't surprise her as she ran over to my side to gush over Carly for a split moment.

"Hey, get dressed. We're going to a party!" She exclaimed.

"I can't. I have to babysit," I mumbled, setting Carly in her bounce chair.

"Your dad will be home at six. He can take care of her," Renee argued. "C'mon! It's not fair that you get stuck babysitting all the time and not even given the chance to live a normal life. You're sixteen. It's your junior year, and you haven't done anything. You need to have some fun."

"How am I supposed to enjoy the rest of my junior year when my best friend isn't even going to be there anymore?" I guilt tripped her. Ever since Renee got accepted to the private school last semester. I hadn't been able to see her as often now that she left Degrassi. I watched her sad sorry eyes, when I finally gave in and asked, "Alright. Where's the party?"

"Torres's house. Adam tweeted it out."

"The Torres's? So it's going to be filled with a bunch of hockey and football jerks?" I leaned over to pull Carly closer as she started to stray away.

"No! There's going to be a bunch of people! Who knows, maybe you'll meet your new Degrassi best friend."

I rolled my eyes. "How could anyone replace you?" Renee's giddiness overcame her which couldn't help but put a smile on my face too. "Fine. If my dad can babysit, I'll go."

XXX

The party had gotten into full swing and Renee was already flirting it up with every single one of her old Degrassi guy friends. I didn't even want to be here. It wasn't fair. Renee does this to me all the time. Convinces me we will go out to all these kind of outings and tells me we will have fun and will enjoy the night. Then she ditches me for…well anybody else with a pulse. I guess it's mostly my fault. I never do anything about it. When she does ask if I'm okay, I lie and say I am. I practically push her away. Maybe the distance will help our friendship overall. Not having to deal with each other all the time maybe will strengthen our friendship. I mean, I've never really gotten along with any of her other friends. But I can't ignore the fact that just because she's my only friend, doesn't mean I'm her only friend also.

A couple decided to make out next to me on the couch I was sitting on, interrupting my thoughts, I decided to get up and head outside. I set my cup down on the table as I breathed in the night air on the back patio. I found a stone staircase around the side of the house and took a seat before pulling out a cigarette and lighting it up. I shut my eyes as I focused on the sound of the fiberglass crackle as I inhaled.

There was a loud stumbling, and suddenly the sound of vomiting brought me out of my quiet place. There was a guy in an Ice Hounds jacket, gripping onto a tree branch as he puked into the bushes. I stared at the kid, waiting for him to notice I was only a few feet away from him.

Once he raised his head high, wiping away the stray moisture around his lips, he froze at the sight of me. "Oh…sorry…I didn't know anyone was out here."

"No it's fine. You drink too much?" I asked in concern.

He shook his head, beginning to rub his face casually, trying to make it look that way, as he wiped away the tears he was trying to hide.

"Are you okay? Do you want me to call someone to pick you up or something?"

"No, I'm fine. I'm just…not so great in crowds," he mumbled leaning against the tree now to regain his strength.

"I know what you mean." I placed the cigarette back between my lips, so I could glance at my phone to ignore Renee's call.

"You know those can kill you," he said, pulling my attention back to him.

I was confused a moment thinking he was talking about my cellphone before remembering the cigarette. "Oh no." It was half-way gone when I decided to put it out and place it back in the box. "I don't smoke. Not really. It's my relevant to you puking. It relieves the stress and it also keeps me from looking like a _total_ loner."

"I guess I can't argue that. I just know what that crap does to your lungs," he said, awkwardly sliding his hands into his pockets and moving his head down.

I stood up and walked over to him. "Yeah I know. I wish I knew a better way to get out of these awkward, stressful situations."

He smiled at me. "Well I better get back inside." He took a step away before realizing I wasn't going to follow. "You coming?"

"No I think I'm going to head out. I'm not having fun anyway." He nodded in agreement and I concluded, "Well it was nice talking to you. I'm Alas by the way."

I held my hand out to him and he grabbed it, shaking it lightly. "Cam."

"Well Cam. I hope I see you around. If I don't, I'm glad I met you." For the second time today, I showed my smile once again, and he had no hesitation to do so either as he walked back into the party.

I decided the decent thing to do was to tell Renee that I was bailing by sending her a quick text. When I crossed the patio, my eye caught the sight of the Cam kid through the glass door. He was uncomfortably leaning against a wall with no one around him. I couldn't tell if he was being alone on purpose or not. I glanced at my phone to read Renee's reply, begging me to come back in. So I did.

The music had gotten louder as I reentered the party, searching for my friend. I found her doing tequila shots with a couple hockey guys. She took the bite of the lime before spitting it out. I nudged my shoulder against hers, and when she gathered her voice back she screamed, "Yay! I'm so glad you stayed!" I let her hug me and keep an arm around my shoulders as she introduced me to the boys in Ice Hounds gear. "Guys this is Alas! Alas this is Dallas, Owen, and Bo!"

"Hi," I muttered.

"Perfect timing!" Renee shrieked, "This girl is the queen of tequila shots!"

Owen gave me an interested look as he poured me a shot and slid it over to me before turning on his video camera. I took a seat at the barstool, picked up a lime, and asked Dallas to hand me the salt. I sprinkled some on my hand, right below my thumb and waited for Renee to yell "go". I quickly licked the salt off my left hand, gulped the shot, slamming it face down on the counter; and took a bite off the lime ripping it off the skin and chewing and swallowing as quickly as I could.

The boys clapped for me as Renee hollered my name multiple times. I ran my tongue over my teeth to check for any lime left over before giving a fake smile at the camera. "Care getting me another shot?" I asked Owen, using my terrible excuse of a flirting voice. He put his camera away before he poured the liquor into my shot glass and I took it down immediately. I'll need all the alcohol I could get to make it through the night.

"Thirsty little girl we got here," Dallas commented.

"Get me a bottle of water and I'll drink all night," I added, but they all gave me a confused look. "You guys don't drink much do you? If you drink a lot of water while you drink alcohol you don't get a hangover."

Owen gave a fascinated look to his teammates before responding, "Learn something new every day!" He turned around to the fridge and pulled out a couple water bottles, handing one to me and starting to drink the other. "I'm holding you to his. If I have a mad hangover in the morning. I'll come looking for you."

"I hope I'm wrong then," I said with a smirk. And I just mentally slapped myself for being so stupid. Why the hell am I flirting with Owen?! I see this guy everywhere at school, I know who he is, and I know he can be a huge asshole too. But what am I doing, I probably just look like an idiot around them too. I can't believe I just said that. If only I could take it back.

The light laughter that I had stirred up quieted down. "C'mon, let me get you a drink," Owen said inviting me to follow him to the keg.

He pumped it a few times before asking how much foam I wanted and filled a red cup for me. After I thanked him and took a few giant sips he started to talk. "So are you new or something? I don't think I've seen you around Degrassi before."

"Nope…I've been at good old Degrassi since the first day of freshman year. But I'm just a Junior, so maybe we just miss each other." I was going to bring up that I knew of big shot Owen Milligan, but I took it back before I said anything. "So, I didn't know one of our fellow Degrassians was NHL material."

He scoffed, "Yeah, I've played ever sense I was a little kid. And as much as I love football. Hockey will always be my true love." He paused for a moment. "Do you play any sports?"

"I've always loved baseball. But never really got to play much other than neighborhood street games." Another silence passed and I remembered, when trying to keep up a conversation, bring up things you might have in common with them. "But hockey is a strong number two. Honest." I gave a big smile, because I was being honest. I always loved sports, but never really did anything about it though.

He awkwardly took a gulp from his cup before asking, "Hey, ya wanna dance?"

I hesitated. No one had ever asked me to dance with them in public since second grade. "I'm not good dancer."

"Me neither. Come on." He took my cup, placing it by his and grabbed my hand to guide me to the living area where everybody was moving to the loud pop music. He steered my hands up to rest on his high shoulders and placed a hand on my waist as he swung his hips around mine.

I was still incredibly confused. Was I really dancing at a party with Owen Milligan. Like I'm not going to say I'm ugly, but I'm not pretty either. I saw Owen dating that Anya girl last year, and she was beautiful. I just don't seem at all his type. Maybe it's a dare, or it's just pity. Or maybe he's going to pull some sort of prank on the lame loner girl. Or worse, I'm overreacting and he actually does want to dance with me…

I continued dancing for the rest of the song until I pulled away using the need to go the restroom excuse and he said he'd meet me at the counter. My head still couldn't wrap around the fact that this guy actually wants to hang out with me. I sat at the top of the stair sipping on a beer bottle I found in a bucket of ice before I ran away to "the restroom". Contemplating if I should even go back down, or if I should sneak out through the front door.

"Hey, I thought you left?" I looked up to meet eyes with Cam once again.

"Yeah, my friend convinced me to stay." I stood up to show interest in the conversation.

"Well I saw you dancing with Owen. You looked like you were having fun," he commented, while still carrying the awkward stance with his hands in his coat pocket.

We started down the stairs. "Yeah, I'm not interested in Owen."

"Well he looked pretty into you."

I for two seconds day dreamed of the thought of actually being with a handsome jock like Owen before I pulled my head out of the gutter and shook that pathetic feeling away from me. "Yeah, I bet he's just being a wingman to one of the other guys. Get me away from my friend so they can hook up with her."

"You don't think highly of yourself do you?" He asked and I stayed silent. "And what if he does like you?"

"Then I'll just have to turn him down, I guess." We turned toward the kitchen area where I caught a glimpse of Dallas and Owen, and continued to talk to Cam as we walked toward them. "I'm just not a relationship kind of person."

"So you and Alas look like you're having a good time," I overheard Dallas comment.

Owen chuckled, "Don't read into it. She's just a puck bunny."

I stopped to face Cam. "Uh…what's a puck bunny?"

Cam continued to glance over at Owen a little disappointed as he answered, "It's um…referred to girls who want to usually…sleep with a hockey player."

"Is that so?" I glared over at Owen for a moment. "Well, I think I'm actually gonna go this time. I'll see you around Cam." He smiled instead of saying "bye" as I walked away from him. I tapped Renee on the shoulder who was talking to some new guy. "Hey, I'm going to go."

"But you just started to have fun. What happened?!" Renee whined.

I glanced back at Owen, and caught a glimpse of Cam once again. "Parties just aren't my thing. I'll call you tomorrow."

We quickly hugged and Renee concluded, "Text me to let me know you got home safe." I nodded as I headed out the back door. Through the glass I watched a couple staring madly in love with each other, grasp hands and leave from the bench. I could feel my eyes tense up as I waited for the couple to leave before I left.

XXX

Along the walk home I slipped off my boots, a little too tipsy for heels right now. But I still couldn't succeed in sneaking back into the house. Danielle was so much better at being quiet. But it wasn't like I was trying to get away with sneaking out. My father knew I was out. I just didn't want him to smell the alcohol on my breath.

"Hey, how was your party?" My dad asked walking around the corner from the kitchen.

"Lame," I started to head to the stairs, looking away from him as much as possible. "I'm really tired. So I think I'm going to head to bed early. I still have school in the morning."

"Kay, night," Dad said as he waited for me to start up the stairs. "And I'm proud you walked home instead of getting one of your drunken friends to drive you."

"I wanted to walk…time to clear my head."

He nodded at me. "Alright. Well, be quiet going upstairs. Both your mom and Carly are asleep."

I slipped off my jacket and jeans before collapsing onto my bed. I glanced at my phone for the first time since I decided to stay at the party and there was a text from Renee, "Owen's looking for you. He wants your number." I rolled my eyes bothering to ignore the text and just send her, "I got home. Safe and Sound. Off to bed. Love ya." Tossing my phone onto my night stand. I turned over onto my stomach, and switched off my light before dozing off.

* * *

**What did you think of chapter 1? I'm working on Chapter 2 now, so I'll have it up when I can. I'm sorry if it takes a while. But now I have some more free time, so I'll try my best to get around to it as much as I can.**

**Now, this story does go around what's going on in the show. Yes and No. If I include a plot that you recognize, you'll get it. Sometimes I'll add Alas into a plot even though she wasn't there in the first place obviously. You will see as I go on. But this is one of those stories that I already have ideas and already have a bunch written already. I just have to put it in order and make a story out of it all. I know what I'm doing. But it doesn't stop that I will listen to any suggestions and comments you have. :) So please, don't hesitate to review! I love you all! :*(^_^) ~Eli**


End file.
